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Park City man dies after breaching door, crawling into plane engine at SLC Airport

Posted at 5:59 AM, Jan 02, 2024
and last updated 2024-01-03 07:56:15-05

SALT LAKE CITY — A man died Monday night after he breached an airport security door and crawled into the engine of a plane at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

The man was later identified as 30-year-old Kyler Efinger, a Park City resident.

WATCH: Family says Park City man killed in plane engine struggled with mental health

Police disclosed that Efinger was a ticketed passenger with a boarding pass to Denver, Colorado. They that at 9:52 p.m., a store manager inside the airport reported a disturbance involving a passenger on the secured side of the terminal. Airport control later told officers that a man went through an emergency exit door.

The disturbance that triggered the incident remains under investigation, Salt Lake City Police reported.

Watch complete police briefing on airport incident below:

Airport Breach Briefing

As officers and employees from the airport started looking for the man, they discovered he accessed the airport's ramp area from the emergency exit. The airport detailed that Efinger ran to the south end of the airport's west runway and crawled into the engine of a plane.

A timeline released by the Salt Lake City Police Department detailed that within minutes, a clothing description of Efinger as well as updated information on his location was passed along to officers.

Shortly after, a pilot reported seeing Efinger and officers found clothing and shoes on one of the airport's runways.

About 20 minutes later, at 10:08 p.m., officials found Efinger unconscious inside a "wing-mounted engine of an occupied commercial aircraft on the deicing pad," police reported.

"The aircraft's engines were rotating," police said in an updated release. "The specific stage of engine operation remains under investigation."

When officers learned Efinger was underneath the aircraft, they requested that FAA air controllers notify the pilot to shut down the engines, SLCPD said.

Officials worked to get Efinger out of the area and performed life-saving efforts on him, including CPR and administration of naloxone, however, he died at the scene.

While the incident did not impact airport operations overall, police said they worked with the airport to deplane passengers and secure the area.

Now, an investigation is underway by local and federal officials including the Salt Lake City Police Department, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and Transportation Security Administration.

The plane that was impacted was a Delta flight set to travel to San Francisco. On board were two pilots, three flight attendants and 95 customers.

Delta said that the flight was canceled and passengers were rebooked on other flights following the incident.

“As nothing is more important than the safety and security of our customers and people, Delta is fully cooperating with all aviation authority and law enforcement investigations," a statement reads.